AA/APFA Demand Bill of Costs

The Sectret Agreement AA/APFA had to Defend the 2003 Restructuring Agreement

Laura Glading recently issued an "indictment" of AMR executives, "charging the top five executive officers of American Airlines - Gerard J. Arpey, Thomas W. Horton, Daniel P. Garton, Robert W. Reding, and Gary F. Kennedy - with multiple acts of managerial incompetence and moral contempt ." Ms. Glading continues by stating that "While APFA does not have the ability to charge [these executives] with criminal acts, [her administration] can charge them with acts that [she finds] reprehensible."

Just so there's no confusion about where Laura Glading stands with regard to the gluttony afforded executives at the expense of flight attendants because of the company's 2003 Restructuring Agreement, following is the Bill for $32,497.66 that American Airlines and the Glading Administration JOINTLY sent Plaintiffs in the RPA Lawsuit. Let there be no mistake, Laura Glading not only negotiated the 2003 Restructuring Agreement, but she also defended it in Federal Court.

Attorneys tried to warn flight attendants of the consequences of allowing our collective bargaining rights to be replaced by Side Letters of Agreement. What was promoted as an "imminent" need to bypass membership involvement and the collective bargaining rights afforded union employees under the Railway Labor Act has already become the new standard for business between American and APFA. Side Letter after Side Letter has been eroding our 1998 Agreement even further since the 2003 Restructuring. Hutto-Blake forfeited manning positions on the 737, 757, MD80 and 767. Retiree medical benefits are now part of a Side Letter because the language was lost during the Restructuring. Glading allowed the company to hire and employ out of seniority as part of the Mandarin Speaker Side Letter. Recall rights have been amended by a Side Letter. And now Laura Glading wants to extend the 2003 Restructuring Agreement for an additional 18 months with another Side Letter.

Just as predicted, our collective bargaining rights are disappearing faster than our 1998 Agreement. It flight attendants to put a stop to it, they’ll have no rights left to protect.

May I ask, Dane, why the Glading Administration continues to complain about AMR's executive bonus plans when the union not only agree to the bonus plans for executives, but promoted them as a benefit for flight attendants? It's written right here in plain English:

"The APFA has also obtained another enhancement to the Restructuring Agreement which allows for the greater likelihood of payment of cash incentives tied to the Company's performance. Further, Management's cash bonuses will be tied to the same performance measures. This will ensure Flight Attendants receive fair treatment when the Company returns to financial viability."

As APFA clearly stated, the bonuses were an "enhancement to the Restructuring Agreement" meant to "ensure Flight Attendants receive fair treatment when the Company returns to financial viability." There's absolutely no confusion about this. And to solidify APFA's commitment to executive compensation, the organization spent eight years and MILLIONS IN UNION FUNDS defending executive compensation in Federal Court while flight attendants were trying to challenge it.

At some point this union needs to admit that defending the company all those years wasn't really in the flight attendants' best interest. I say this because I believe that it's the only way that the membership can finally put this chapter behind us. It's like alcoholism, until the individual is willing to admit that there's a problem, there's no hope of entering recovery. In order for APFA to recover, the organization has to admit that there's a problem — in APFA's case, it's chronic capitulation.

When I read Laura Glading's Special Hotline message last week, it sounded just like the Hotline messages leading up to the 2003 Restructuring. She's talks about the company's pitiful performance and anticipated 2011 losses, but she neglects to mention that AMR won a bidding war with Delta earlier this year over who was going to aid Japan Airlines (JAL) out of bankruptcy. AMR's $1.4 billion offer solidified AMR as the winner. And let's not forget the hundreds of millions in bonuses that have been doled out over that last eight years to executives. There's plenty of cash and there always has been, which makes me question Ms. Glading's intentions: Is it Corporate Stockholm Syndrome, or is she promoting corporate rhetoric similar to that which was spoon-fed to the membership in early 2003?

Those of us who have taken the time to educate ourselves on what really transpired in 2003 understand that the "Turn-Around Plan" was outlined in early 2001 but not implemented until late 2002. The company used 9/11 as a catalyst for implementing the plan using Gerard Arpey's strategy on lowering labor costs outlined in his 1982 Thesis. What he referred to as "active engagement" was in reality a strategy whereby management promoted doom and gloom to the employees by utilizing union leadership as the voice. I mention this because this is exactly what I'm seeing here — APFA promoting doom and gloom to the employees.

In closure, there's no way that Laura Glading is going to convince me that she can't negotiate with the company. She just negotiated the union's Antitrust Immunity Endorsement and also an agreement to allow the company to hire and employee Mandarin speakers out of seniority. These two deals were negotiated. And when you look at this following photo of Laura Glading and Flight Service VP Denise Lynn from October, nothing about this picture reflects the hardships outlined in your following Hotline message. When you talk about flight attendants "losing their homes and struggling to support their families," nothing in this photo reflects the dire urgency of the situation we face. I could be wrong, but appears that Ms. Glading has her arm around Denise Lynn.

On Wednesday April 20, the day 800 plus managers are scheduled to receive bonuses, picketing and leafleting events will be held around the system to protest their insatiable greed.

We've been fighting with this company almost three years for a decent living wage and have received only one response – a demand for even more concessions. These demands coming from those that will once again be awarded multi-million dollar bonuses while Flight Attendants are losing their homes and struggling to support their families.

Stay tuned for additional details regarding picketing and leafleting times and places.

It's no joke AA needs new management!

If you believe that treating your employees with no respect, taking undeserved bonuses and running a once proud company darn near into the ground are great managerial skills then you probably don't want to take APFA's survey regarding the current AA management team. However, if you believe these are egregious sins against common decency then let your voice be heard! Take the survey found on apfa.org and share your opinion. We will use the results in a campaign centered around the events on April 20.

Let us not forget that American Airlines could put an end to these negotiations at any moment by agreeing to a contract that recognizes our sacrifices. They are the enemy in this battle.